To see things from a different perspective is one of the most difficult things we have to do.

- Jeannette Armstrong

The Why:

Simon Sinek says that "People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." Nietzsche agrees, "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."

In business, relationships, and life, what matters most is not the what or the how, but the why.

And the same applies to stories.

Elements like setting, plot and conflict are important and necessary to sustain a good story, but they're the what and the how. The purpose of the story, the exploring of humanity and the enlightenment of a life, these are the WHY of stories and what stories stay alive for.

To quote Mr Keating quoting Walt Whitman:

Stories matter because they encourage, inspire, and transform - they answer the essential question of life, namely, "What is It all about?"

They are what we live for.

The subsequent links are an ongoing study on why the elements of stories are important and what they can teach us about Life, identity, and the powerful play of which we are so fortunate enough to contribute a small verse.

(You can also click here to watch John Green's sporadic yet insiteful thoughts on the matter.)